Shloka 6
पुराणश्रवणप्रस्तावः
Prologue to the Recitation of the Śaiva Purāṇa
सूत उवाच । शृण्वंतु ऋषयः सर्वे पुराणं वेदसारजम् । पुरा कालेन महता कल्पेऽतीते पुनःपुनः
sūta uvāca | śṛṇvaṃtu ṛṣayaḥ sarve purāṇaṃ vedasārajam | purā kālena mahatā kalpe'tīte punaḥpunaḥ
സൂതൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഋഷിമാരേ, വേദസാരത്തിൽ നിന്നു ജനിച്ച ഈ പുരാണം നിങ്ങൾ എല്ലാവരും ശ്രവിക്കുവിൻ. അതിപ്രാചീനകാലത്ത്, മഹത്തായ കാലയളവ് കഴിഞ്ഞ ശേഷം, മുൻ കല്പം പുനഃപുനഃ അവസാനിച്ചപ്പോൾ ഈ പുണ്യവൃത്താന്തം വീണ്ടും പ്രസ്താവിക്കപ്പെട്ടു।
Suta Goswami
Sthala Purana: Cosmic framing rather than local: the Purāṇa is ‘veda-sāraja’ and is re-proclaimed across kalpas, emphasizing perennial revelation.
Significance: Śravaṇa (listening) itself is treated as a meritorious sādhana; hearing the Purāṇa is a portable pilgrimage yielding purification and readiness for Śiva’s teaching.
Cosmic Event: Kalpa-cycle repetition; re-proclamation after prior kalpa endings (cyclic time).
FAQs
It frames the Shiva Purana as vedasāra—Vedic essence—meant to be received through attentive listening (śravaṇa), a primary Shaiva path for inner purification and liberation-oriented understanding.
By presenting the Purana as timeless across kalpas, it implies that Saguna Shiva worship—especially Linga-centered devotion taught in the Vidyeshvara/Vishveshvara context—remains a perennial means to approach the Supreme Pati (Shiva).
The immediate practice is śravaṇa (devotional listening) to Shiva-kathā; traditionally this supports mantra-japa (e.g., the Panchakshara) and steady contemplation of Shiva as the liberating Lord.